A Tale of Sheldon & Penny: Part 7: Hell of a Day
by Shipper1990
Summary: Sheldon gets kidnapped and Sheldon & Penny are dragged into a fast-paced adventure. Crossover with 24.
1. 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

I would assume everyone with a TV knows 24, but in case not, here's a very rough synopsis. The show centers around Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland), a federal agent (and former delta force captain) at a fictional counter terrorist unity (CTU). He's basically Chuck Norris with a gun. What's special about the show is that each season equals only one day. In every of these 8 and a half seasons/days hell breaks loose over Los Angeles, New York, Washington or London. Horrible terrorist attacks including ABC/NBC weapons happen or are planed, traitors within the goverment or the CTU/FBI/CIA are also a regular component and to top it off Jack's friends and family are often in danger. The always extreme time pressure, torture and lots of killing (309 kills so far) are Jack Bauer's trademarks. I think that's about it. Is better than it sounds, one of my all time favorites.

As for the style of the story it's quite simple, each chapter covers one hour (short time jumps inbetween), overall it will be 24 hours (you would have never guessed that, right?). Not sure yet if I will do 24 chapters or if I make a larger time jump before the epilog (like in LAD).

Set about a year after Live Another Day (alternative ending: the exchange went wrong, Belcheck, Chloe and the Russians are killed). Being pardoned by president Heller, who resigned by now, Jack returned to the US and was put in charge of the CTU station in Los Angeles. Also appearing from LAD Kate Morgan (played by the wonderful Yvonne Strahovski), maybe I string Tony Almeida in later (you might want to watch 24: Solitary).

I've never done anything like that, so don't expect daily updates. chapters will probably be a bit longer than usual.

* * *

The following takes place between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on the day Sheldon planned on proposing to Penny. Events occur in real time.

* * *

Saturday, September 4, 2010

06:00:00 ... 01 ... 02

"This is beautiful, Sheldon.", Penny said without taking her eyes of the red evening sky. "I'm not even going to ask how you found this spot and how you knew that the sunset today is going to be so amazing."

Sheldon smiled contently. The whole day had been planned over weeks and so far everything had went perfectly. And the timing for the big finale was also almost perfect, just a slight, irrelevant delay.

Quietly Sheldon took two steps backwards, unnoticed by Penny. He took the ring box from his pants pocket and opened it. Although Penny had already seen the engagement ring, her reaction would surely be any less enthusiastic. And there was only a really tiny bit of fear inside Sheldon that she would say no.

Just as Sheldon was about to go down on one knee he heard the distant squeal of tires behind him – which was weird as cars were banned from the area. Before Penny could turn around Sheldon quickly shut the ring box and put it back in his pocket. This special moment wasn't going to be disturbed by some jerk speeding through a nature reserve.

"What's that?", Penny asked.

Sheldon shrugged. A white van appeared between the trees, driving at pretty high speed.

"What a jerk.", Penny commented.

The van came closer and slowed down. Less than twenty feet from Sheldon and Penny it came to a stop.

After a couple of seconds the side door slide open and two men got out. They were wearing completely black clothes including ski masks. They were armed with submachine guns.

Penny was shocked and retreated a few steps, coming dangerously close to the slope. Sheldon instinctively positioned himself between Penny and the mystery men.

One of the men walked to about ten feet towards Sheldon and pointed his gun at him. "Sheldon Cooper?"

Sheldon didn't reply, he was too terrified.

"Are you Sheldon Cooper?", the man asked again. His partner said something in a foreign language and ran towards Sheldon. He grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him in the direction of the van.

"No! Let him go!", Penny screamed.

The second man pointed his weapon at her and Penny froze. The man lowered his gun halfway and fired two bursts into the ground in front of her, laughing sardonically.

Meanwhile the other man had taken over Sheldon, who wasn't resisting. He pushed him into the van, the two men got in as well, the door was closed and the van drove off.

06:10:20 ... 21 ... 22

Penny was standing where Sheldon had been kidnapped and tried to figure out what to do. In the last minutes she had been first followed the van by foot, then she had tried to find the way back to the small cafe inside the reserve, but she couldn't remember the way.

Penny was in complete panic mode. The batteries of her phone had died earlier the day, she couldn't even call the police.

Hearing the sound of an approaching car Penny gained new hope. The blue sports car stopped directly in front of Penny and a woman with short blond hair jumped out. "Penelope Jones?"

Penny didn't even realize that a complete stranger called her by name. "You need to help me, please. My boyfriend has been kidnapped. Do you have a phone?"

"Damn it.", the woman cursed. She took out her cell phone, but instead of giving it to Penny she made a call herself. "Jack, we've been too late. Again. We need the satellites back up asap." The blonde was silence for a moment, apparently the called party was speaking. "I understand. The girlfriend is here, I will bring her in, maybe she saw something useful."

Penny didn't understand what was going on. Bring her in? What in the world had she gotten into?

"Excuse me, I should have introduced myself. Kate Morgan, CTU Los Angeles. I'm a federal agent." She flashed a badge. "I need you to come with me, I'll explain everything on the way. Don't worry, we will find your boyfriend."

06:18:10 ... 11 ... 12

Sheldon was sitting on a small bench in the back of the van, across from him his two kidnappers and two more man, dressed the same. Neither of them had taken of their mask during the drive, which – by Sheldon's estimates – lasted about fifteen minutes so far. They had taken his phone, wallet and keys, but had missed the ring box.

No one spoke a word, including Sheldon. He considered it his best option to stay calm and just observe for now. Not that there was much to be observed. Except the benches and the armed men the back of the van was empty, he could neither see outside or into the driver's cabin.

At least they hadn't harmed Penny. When the guy had fired his submachine gun, Sheldon almost had a heart attack, but before they had taken him away he saw that she was unharmed.

There was little doubt in Sheldon that he had been targeted specifically. The question was why. Could it be a simple kidnapping and blackmail for money? Or could it be related to his recent scientific breakthrough?

The van turned around a corner and stopped. Sheldon could hear the door on the passenger side be opened and closed. Shortly after the vehicle continued his way.

06:40:12 ... 13 ... 14

"I still don't understand.", Penny said. "Why would someone terrorist group target Sheldon of all?"

"We don't know yet what's the connection between the kidnapped scientists.", agent Morgan answered. "We decrypted a file found on a raid just a couple of hours ago and we have been trying to track down the names on the list since. For the most part we were too late. As far as we can tell at least nine scientist have been kidnapped today."

"They're not going to kill him, are they?"

"We have to assume that your boyfriend was taken to get information from him or he's supposed to perform a certain task for the group. That gives us a short window of time to rescue him and the others."

"And afterwards?"

"No need to assume the worst. We're almost there."

"Where are we going again?"

"The headquarter of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit. I ensure you that everything is done to bring your boyfriend back alive. My boss, Jack Bauer, is very experienced in these kind of crises."

"Wait, Jack Bauer? The Jack Bauer?"

"That's him and he's the best."

Despite the horrible situation Penny felt much more optimistic now. Everyone had heard the stories of Jack Bauer, badass of the century. For fifteen years – more or less – he hunted terrorist and kept the US save before being branded a terrorist himself and forced to flee the country. Last year he had been pardoned by former president Heller and apparently returned to his old job.

06:56:44 ... 45 ... 46

Sheldon was dragged out of the van and into what seemed to be an abandoned industrial plant. He was lead to a heavy door, guarded by two men, wearing the same clothes and mask as the others, but were armed with assault rifles. A Russian model if Sheldon saw it correctly.

Wordlessly one of the men from the van held out a small black cloth-bag to Sheldon. He took it hesitantly and looked inside. The man gestured Sheldon to put the bag on his head and he obliged.

Sheldon couldn't see anything through the tight fabric of the bag, but he could hear the door being opened. He was pushed forward and fell to his knees. Two arms picked him up and dragged him further. They sat him down on a chair and twisted his arms behind the backrest, handcuffing him.

"Don't move."


	2. 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

07:02:18 ... 19 ... 20

After several minutes of complete silence Sheldon finally dared to move. He still couldn't see anything, but he was fairly certain that he wasn't being watched.

First Sheldon tried to free his arms out of the uncomfortable position, but to no avail. Luckily his feet were free to move, so he stood up, still chained to the chair. Bending forward and shaking his head he managed to get rid of the bag on his head even without using his hands.

Sheldon looked around. He was in a large, poorly lit room. Sheldon couldn't spot any guards or cameras, but evenly spread over the room were eight figures, all tied to chairs and with black bags over their heads.

Sheldon could see some of them breathing heavily or moving slightly, others showed no signs of life. There were no way to escape, the windows were small and at about sixteen feet height and the only door was the one he came in.

Sheldon sat back down again and tried to assess the situation. He had been targeted directly, so most likely the others had been as well. What was the connection between him, the eight other hostages and the kidnappers? Sheldon couldn't come up with an answer.

Before Sheldon could do any more thinking the door was opened again and two masked guards entered, followed by an unmasked man. He was white, about fifty years old, 6 feet tall bald.

The man looked around until he noticed that Sheldon was the only one without a bag. "Him.", he said and pointed at Sheldon.

The guards picked Sheldon's chair up and carried him out to the hallway and into another, much smaller room.

"Who is he?", the bald man asked.

"Sheldon Cooper. We just brought him in."

"I see. Leave us alone."

The masked men left and closed the door behind them.

"So, Mister Cooper. What do you think it means if my men tell you not to move?", the boss asked, walking up and down in front of Sheldon.

Sheldon didn't reply. He needed to get more information and keeping his opponent talking was the best way to get it.

"Do you know why you're here?"

Sheldon shook his head. He had really no idea.

"I think you do. But let's not waste time by playing games. I will tell you how things are. You have a piece of information that I want. If you give it to me, you will be free to leave. We're a little bit remote here, but I'm sure you will be okay. After all, you're very smart."

Sheldon's mind was racing. What information could he be after?

"I'm not ashamed to admit that you and everyone else in that room is way smarter than me. But here's a secret. Not smart people rule the world, the ones who are more determined than others do. And I am very determined. And I will not hesitate to inflict pain on you if you don't give me what I want."

Sheldon started to sweat heavily. He still had no idea what all of this was about, but he was already threatened to be tortured.

"Now tell me, where is it? Where is the Elcus?"

07:19:01 ... 02 ... 03

Penny had been sitting in the interrogation room at the CTU for more than half an hour. Since she had answered a couple of question about the kidnapping, no one had came to see her. The door was locked.

Penny hammered against what she assumed to be a one-way mirror. "Hello? Someone out there?"

A minute later Agent Morgan entered the room. "Sorry for letting you wait, Miss Jones."

"Please, call me Penny. Do you have new information about Sheldon's whereabouts?"

"Penny then. I'm Kate. I'm afraid we do not." She put an evidence bag on the table. "The local police found Mister Cooper's phone, wallet and keys not far from where he was taken."

"What about Sheldon?"

"He is still missing, I'm sorry. I have to ask you a couple more question, it might help with the search."

"Yes, of course."

"Okay. Here's a list of other scientist who have been kidnapped. Do you know any of the names?"

Penny went over the short list. "Only one. Barry Kripke."

"And how do you know Mister Kripke?"

"I've never met him, but Sheldon worked with him at CalTech."

"Until he was laid off half a year ago?"

"Yes."

"And did they work on together on a project?"

"No, I don't think so. They don't particularly like each other."

"But you don't know for sure?"

"Sheldon would have told me about it."

"And how long have you been dating exactly?"

"Almost two and a half years."

"I see."

"What does our relationship or Sheldon's work have to do with anything? How is this going to help us find him?"

"The first step is to figure out why he was kidnapped. And to do that we need to find out how the names on the list are connected."

07:30:56 ... 57 ... 59

"Where is it?", the bald man yelled and twisted the knife in Sheldon's left arm a little more.

"I don't know!", Sheldon yelled back. "I don't even know what you're talking about!"

"Don't lie to me! I know you work on the Elcus project!"

The pain was making it increasingly difficult for Sheldon to think straight. He was telling the truth, but it was probably for the best that his torturer didn't believe him. Sheldon decided to change his strategy. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you."

"Smart decision, Doctor Cooper." The man withdrew his knife and cleaned Sheldon's blood off.

"But first you have to tell me what you're going to do with the ... Elcus."

"You seem to have a wrong impression of what's going on here. This isn't a negotiation. You tell me what I want to know right now or I will ..."

"I won't tell you anything as long as I don't know what you're going to do with it.", Sheldon reaffirmed his demand.

"Or I can just ask one of your eight colleagues. I doubt they will be so restive.", the interrogator replied and pushed open the door. "Take him back and bring me another one. A woman."

07:48:33 ... 34 ... 35

"Here's the dossier, Jack."

Jack Bauer took the file and started reading. The man suspected to be behind the kidnappings of nine scientist was Josip Kovacec, a Croatian mercenary. He had entered the United States two days ago and escaped the observation by the FBI immediately afterwards. "Any information about who Kovacec is working for?"

"I'm afraid not.", Kate Morgan answered.

"And what is his target?"

"I just got a call from Homeland Security about the scientist and how they are connected. The list we found is the same as a candidate list for a top secret research project from two years ago. Codename Elcus."

"What's that?"

"I couldn't get any more information. Apparently it's top secret."

"Damn it."


	3. 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Kripke's lisp: r and l are replaced by w. hope it's not too hard to read. or as Kripke would say: hawd to wead. Not making fun of people with speech defects, that's how he talks on the show.

* * *

08:06:12 ... 13 ... 14

Penny walked up and down the hallways in front of the interogation room. Despite caffeine being the last thing she needed right now, she had already her third cup of coffee from the vending machine.

And the coffee didn't fail to have an effect on Penny. Luckily the ladies' room was right nearby. Penny disposed the empty cup, put the bag with Sheldon's belongings on the rim of the washbowl and splashed some water on her face.

Penny knew that freaking out would do no good whatsoever, but she was worried to death about Sheldon. And not knowing what he had gotten into made things even worse.

Penny dried her hands and face with paper towels and stuffed the plastic bag into her pants pocket. She went into the leftmost stall and locked the door. She opened the toilet lid and was just about to unbutton her pants as she heard someone else entering the restroom.

"Yes, I'm alone.", a female voice said. "They found out about Elcus. It was only a matter of time until they make the connection between the scientists."

Penny wrinkled her forehead. Why was the woman making an obviously work related call in the ladies' room? And why did start by stating that she was alone?

"No, they don't know any details yet, but Bauer is putting pressure on the Pentagon to ... – yes, I understand."

Penny could hear the woman end the call, wash her hands and leave the restroom.

08:22:27 ... 28 ... 29

Sheldon was back in the larger room with the other prisoners – or his colleagues as the man torturing him not to long ago had called them.

He could hear the screams of the woman who was now being interrogated after Sheldon didn't answer the one question the leader of the kidnappers had ask again and again – mostly because he didn't know the answer.

Knowing that someone else – even someone he didn't know – was tortured next door was way worse than the pain in Sheldon's arm, where the knife wound still bled. The overall loss of blood was negligible though.

Elcus. The Elcus project. Sheldon had worked on nothing named even similar. At this point his best guess was that he was kidnapped based on false information.

The screaming finally stopped and was replaced by angry shouting. Moments later the heavy door in front of Sheldon was opened again and a brunette woman was brought in. Both of her arms were widely covered in blood. She wasn't tied to a chair anymore, but her hands were still handcuffed together behind her back.

The masked guards picked up another hostage along with the chair. "No, no. Not me, pwease.", Sheldon could hear a familiar voice whimper.

"Kripke?"

"Coopew? Coopew, hewp me!"

08:35:04 .. 05 ... 06

After wandering around on the hallways of the CTU building for almost have an hour and being denied entry by security guards about a dozen times, Penny finally got a chance to talk to Agent Morgan.

"Kate, Kate, do you have a minute?"

"Not really. What's up? Did you remember something else about the kidnappers or the van?"

"No, I ... – what's Elcus?"

Kate Morgan twitched visibly and grabbed Penny's arm, dragging her into an empty conference room. "What do you know about Elcus?", she asked with lowered voice.

"Absolutely nothing, that's why I'm asking you."

"Were did you hear the name? Did Sheldon tell you about project Elcus?"

"No, I overheard someone in the ladies' room. She said to someone on the phone that Elcus was the connection between the kidnapped scientists."

"In the ladies' room?"

"Yes. What is going on here, Kate?"

"Penny, you have to concentrate. Tell me exactly what you heard."

"Okay. So I was in a stall and someone came in and said that she's alone."

"Are you sure it was a woman?"

"I haven't seen her, but the voice was clearly female and after all it was in the ladies' room."

"Okay, continue."

"She said that she's alone and then than they had found out about Elcus – no idea who they is."

"Anything else?"

"Uh, It was only a matter of time ... – connection between the scientists ... – they don't know any details yet, but Bauer – I assume Jack Bauer – is putting pressure on the Pentagon. That's it. Then she hung up and left."

"And she didn't notice that you were there?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay, come with me."

"What is going on, Kate?"

"We might have an even bigger problem than kidnapped scientists and an unspecified terror threat. We might have a traitor inside the CTU."

08:44:16 ... 17 ... 18

Kripke was brought back quicker than the woman who was still unconsciously lying on the ground. He also wasn't injured as bad, but nevertheless the horror was written all over his face.

The masked men put his chair down so carelessly that it fell over and Kripke hit his head. Both men laughed evilly before leaving the room and closing the door.

"Kripke? Kripke, are you okay?"

"Do I wook okay to you?"

"Sorry. How bad is it?"

"Be quiet, they will kill us all.", one of the other scientists said through his cloth-bag.

"Why awe you even hewe?", Kripke asked, barely loud enough for Sheldon to hear. "You wewen't pawt of pwoject Ewcus."

"Someone seems to think I am. What is project Elcus anyway?"

"Two yeaws ago I was appwoached by ..."

"Shut up, Barry, that's top secret and you don't know who's listening."


	4. 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

09:00:42 ... 43 ... 44

Penny, Kate and Jack were sitting in his office and considered their next steps.

"A lockdown is the best chance to find the leak.", Kate said. "Besides, it's the protocol for these kind of situations."

"Screw the protocol. Even if we catch the traitor, Homeland Security will shut us down and we lose every chance of finding Kovacec before it's too late."

"Maybe it's for the best. The leak could sabotage our whole work. Let Homeland Security take over."

"No, we're better equipped than Homeland and we would lose hours just passing on the investigation. I can't bureaucracy have standing us in the way of doing our job. Not again."

"What do you suggest?"

"We have to find the mole, but quiet. No one outside this rooms knows about it, right?"

Penny and Kate nodded.

"And it has to stay this way. Do you remember anything else about the woman that can help us identify her?"

"Uh, I ... – she was wearing high heels, I think."

"Most women around here do.", Kate said. "And all sections know about Elcus and the scientists, that doesn't narrow it down either."

"Can we check all cell phone calls made in the building around the time in question?"

"Already did. Nothing suspicious. But it's easily possible to hide a call if you want to."

"Security cameras?", Jack Bauer asked.

"Only outside and in the parking lot and entry area."

"That's no help, damn it."

"We really only have the voice to go on.", Agent Morgan said. "Penny, do you think you could recognize it?"

"Maybe."

"What's your plan, Kate? We hardly can have a civilian walking around and talk to all of our female staff."

09:19:55 ... 56 ... 57

For the last half hour the abductees had been left alone, no one else had been picked up for enhanced interrogation. The woman on the floor close to Sheldon – Doctor Ava Carter – was awake now. She ensured him that her injuries weren't that bad, but with everyone being handcuffed, no one could have helped her anyway.

Neither Kripke, Doctor Carter nor any of the others had revealed anything more about project Elcus to Sheldon and Carter had made clear how important it was to not give any information up to their interrogator, even if it may cost their lives.

Sheldon was impressed by that kind of heroism and afraid that it was not shared by everyone in the room. Kripke had already admitted that he was close to breaking before Kovacec – as one of the guards had called the bald man – had gotten tired of his lisp.

Sheldon was also highly intrigued to find out more about Elcus.

Through the windows on the far side of the room Sheldon could hear several vehicles arriving, as well as loud calling. A moment later Kovacec and half a dozen of his men – some masked, some not – entered.

"Take them all to the trucks. Who resists, get's killed. And hurry."

09:33:21 ... 22 ... 23

Kate Morgan stormed into Jack Bauer's office. "I finally have gotten some more information from the Pentagon on project Elcus."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"Project Elcus was initiated two years ago by the Advanced Technology Division, short ATD, a small, top secret branch of the DoD. As we already know the list we found contained scientists who were considered to take part in the project. Eventually six of them were chosen."

"Anyone we have in protective custody?"

"I'm afraid not. Five of the six have been kidnapped, the sixth died two weeks ago in a car accident. Of the other seven candidates three were kidnapped as well, three are protected by the FBI and one is visiting his family in Canada."

"What was the goal of the project?"

"In simplified terms, to create a method to hack into the government network of any foreign country."

"So it's some kind of super-virus?"

"Not exactly. From what I understand – and the information is still pretty thin – it's a device that creates an individual virus for the system it's attacking. Or at least that's what it was supposed to do, but four weeks ago project Elcus was terminated after twenty months."

"So it was a failure? Why the high interest by Kovacec's group for a failed project?"

"Well, the DoD didn't want to confirm it officially, but rumors are that while there was no success in hacking foreign systems, a test on our own network was – scientifically speaking – very much successful."

"What do you ... – no. Don't tell me that the blackout of the satellites ..."

"I'm afraid so. It was our own doing. Of course it was not indented to actually cause any harm, from what I hear no one knows what exactly happened."

"Thousands of people are working on fixing the issue for four weeks and all because of a test gone wrong?"

"Yes. And I think that explains why Kovacec and whoever he's working for is so intent to get the Elcus."

"We created a weapon that can only harm ourselves.", Jack stated dryly.

"Looks that way. Because the development of the Elcus was based on our own firewalls."

"That's really messed up, but now that we know what the terrorists are after, we can protect it."

Kate sucked her teeth. "Uh ..."

"What?"

"I don't actually know where the Elcus device is at this point. The ATD doesn't share information with other branches, it has its own secret facilities and they can't even be contacted."

"What kind of madness is this? How is it possible that a government division works completely isolated?"

"I can only explain it with the very sensible nature of the research conducted. The oversight takes place directly by the president."

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"On the positive side we might have a lead to the scientist."

"Tell me when you have a location. I want to be in on the action. Any news on the traitor?"

"Not yet."

09:55:02 ... 03 ... 04

Penny paused the recording and groaned annoyed. Kate had given her audio files of hiring interviews of all female employees working for the CTU in Los Angeles in the hope Penny could identify the traitor that way.

But she simply couldn't concentrate, her thoughts kept wandering to Sheldon. Penny still didn't exactly know what was going on, but it was clear that Sheldon was in the hands of very dangerous men. She was worried sick and cursed fate for what she and Sheldon had to go through. First Paris, followed by five months coma, then the crazy stalker and now this.

And to top it off Penny still had to pee. She left the small room, nodded politely to the security guard next to the door and went down the hallway.

Turning around the corner Penny bumped into a blond woman, causing her to drop a stack of files. "I'm sorry, let me help you."

"It's okay, I've got it."

Nevertheless Penny helped gathering the papers before continuing her way to the restroom. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. That voice. It was her, she was the traitor.

Penny turned around and hurried back to the corner, peeking around it. She could just see the woman entering a room at the other end of the hallway.

Penny pondered what to do. She hadn't really paid attention to the woman. Blond, glasses, jeans and a blue blouse – would that be enough to identify her? Having to decide quickly Penny wanted to try to get a better look at the woman. After all finding the leak could help to find Sheldon.


	5. 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm

10:00:00 ... 01 ... 02

Penny opened the door as quiet as possible and entered what seemed to be a storage room. She hid behind a shelf and watched the woman through the gap between two card boxes. The traitor had her back turned to Penny, so she couldn't get a good look at her.

Glad that she wasn't wearing high heels herself Penny sneaked around the room until she could get a decent, even though just short look at the blonde's face. Trying to memorize it as good as possible Penny waited in the shadows until the woman had left.

As she was just about to leave as well to report her discovery to Agent Morgan, Penny noticed a blinking red light. Taking a closer look she detected a small device attached to a large pipe which was running along the wall on half height.

Penny froze as she realized what it might be. The device had all the characteristics of a bomb.

So far she had been holding up surprisingly well, but now the whole madness of the events in the last few hours crashed down on Penny. She slumped to the ground and stayed there for a moment before getting back up, turning around and running towards the door – only to look in the barrel of a revolver.

10:21:44 ... 45 ... 46

Sheldon, Kripke, Carter and the other six scientist were sitting in the load space of a small truck and waited for what would happen next. After getting freed from the handcuffs they had been locked in the truck and – again – been told not to move.

After a forty-minute drive they had stopped more than ten minutes ago. The atmosphere was understandably tense.

Doctor Carter had argued they should try to make a run for it when a chance presented itself, but most of the others were far too fearful.

Sheldon considered the chances for a successful escape attempt to be very low considering the manpower and weaponry of their kidnappers. After more than four hours in captivity he had more and more difficulties to stay calm and rational. Even though being told otherwise he had no doubt that Kovacec would kill them all once he had gotten what he wanted.

Sheldon took the ring box from his pocket and held it in both hands. There was no light whatsoever, but Sheldon could see the ring in his mind's eye. He took comfort in the fact that Penny knew about his intentions and his love for her.

"What do you have thewe?", Barry asked, having heard Sheldon opening the ring box.

"I was just about to propose to my girlfriend as they took me.", Sheldon answered.

A murmur went through the group. "I've been tortured today, but that ... – that's just really bad luck.", Carter commented. "I was just having a cup of tea. Alone."

Sheldon could hear the back door of the truck being unlocked and quickly put the ring back in his pants pocket. The door was opened and the dazzling light of a second truck's headlights blinded him temporarily.

"Get out.", one man ordered while the other pointed his gun at them. Behind them Sheldon could see Kovacec seemingly arguing with a tall brunette woman.

Ava climbed out of the truck first and was immediately pushed to the right. Sheldon was second, he counted thirteen of the black wearing terrorists as well as three others armed only with pistols, wearing dark blue bulletproof vests.

The scientists were led through a metal door into a bunker, through a ill-lit corridor and down two sets of stairs. The bunker didn't exactly scream Cold War, it actually seemed fairly modern.

"So much to making a run for it.", Ava said after they had been locked in again, this time in a windowless cell approximately fifteen feet below the ground with nothing in it than a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

10:34:34 ... 35 ... 36

Penny had been tied to one of the shelves with plastic cuffs, her mouth was duct-taped.

"Damn it.", Penny's captor cursed. She had been trying to call someone over and over again, but with no success.

Penny had the impression that the woman walking up and down in front of her had no clue what to do next.

"Looks like you're going to get a front row seat. Not that it makes much of a difference. You see, this building has some major construction flaws and by blowing up this gas pipe and the following chain-reaction the CTU will be destroyed with everyone in it. Of course I will be long gone by then." The blonde pressed a button on the bomb's control panel and a timer showed up. Fifty-two minutes and six seconds. "A countdown makes it more exciting, doesn't it?"

10:50:51 ... 52 ... 53

The phone on Jack's desk rang, ripping him from his thoughts. "Bauer."

"Don't try to stop us, Jack.", the voice at the other end said.

"Who is there?"

"You don't recognize the voice of an old friend, Jack?"

"Tony?"

"Don't try to stop us.", Tony Almeida repeated. "We're only doing what's necessary."

Jack Bauer couldn't believe it. Of course he had heard of Almeida's escape from the high-security detention facility three months ago, but he would have never expected his old partner to be involved in the events of the day. "Why are you doing this, Tony? Who are you working for?"

"We're patriots, Jack. America is sick and we're the cure. The Elcus will give us the power to create a new country, a better country."

"Tony ..."

"Don't try to trace this call. You know I'm better than that, Jack."


	6. 11:00 pm - 12:00 pm

11:04:16 ... 17 ... 18

"Tony Almeida?", Kate asked.

"Yes."

"You never talk about him."

"There's not much to talk about. He was my partner many years ago and now he's a traitor and a terrorist."

"Do you think he's working for Kovacec?"

"No, I think Kovacec works for him. We're dealing with more than foreign mercenaries here. I always suspected Tony's break-out was an inside-job, it had to be. We might not only have a traitor inside the CTU."

"You think we're dealing with an American terrorist group?"

"Yes, including elements in government agencies."

"What should we do now?"

"We have to find the scientists and Kovacec, that's our best lead. Any progress on finding the traitor?"

"Penny is going through the audio files, I haven't heard back from her yet.", Kate replied. Her phone beeped. "That's tech, they finally decrypted the data from Kovacec's man in Anaheim. They found plans for an old plant north of L.A. – could be where the scientists a kept."

"How fast can we get there?"

11:13:46 ... 47 ... 48

Penny was moving her arms up and down behind her back as fast as she could in an effort to cut through the zip-cuffs. She had already cut herself at the metal shelf several times, which she took as a sign that her plan could be working.

After more than half an hour Penny was at the end of her strength, only the imminent fear of death kept her going. She cursed herself for ever stepping foot inside the storage room. On the other hand the bomb would probably never have been discovered otherwise and Penny would have been killed alongside dozens of others – assuming the claims of the traitorous blonde were true.

At this point Penny's biggest hope was that Kate would notice that she was gone and look for her. But so far Penny's phone, which was still in her pocket, hadn't rang.

Fourteen minutes were left on the timer and Penny spurred herself on once more. Sheldon. She had to live for Sheldon. She had to help find him.

Penny cried out in pain as she cut her hand again, muffled by the duct tape over her mouth.

11:19:10 ... 11 ... 12

"Will someone finally tell me what project Elcus is?", Sheldon asked loudly, not being able to handle not knowing any longer.

"Yeah, I would like to know that too.", Caroline, the only female scientist in the group other than Doctor Carter, endorsed him. "Why are they keeping us here? I don't know anything about it."

"And it's better that way.", Ava replied. "There's a reason it's kept a secret."

Before the conversation could be continued the door was opened and two of the kidnappers grabbed Kripke and Sheldon while two others held the rest in bay with their weapons.

Sheldon was led at gunpoint to the very next room in the bunker where Kovacec was waiting for him and Kripke. Sheldon saw a box with syringes on the table to his right.

"No, not these two, you idiots.", Kovacec scolded his men. "I already had them. Can't you see their arms? Bring me two of the others. But not the bitchy brunette, she will never break."

Sheldon and Kripke were brought back, instead Doctor Finch and Doctor Mazinek were picked up for – presumably – the next round of torture.

Once the guards were gone Sheldon pressed his ear to the wall. The sound isolation was rather bad and he could hear Kovacec pretty clearly.

"We three are going to play a little game. The first one to tell me what I want to know gets to live, the other gets a bullet between the eyes." It followed a break. "No one? That's disappointing. Luckily I have something here that will help you do the smart thing. It's called Hydro... – ah, what does it matter who it's called. The effect is far more interesting. Once I injected you a dose, if you try to lie to me or withhold the truth, you will suffer great pain – and I don't even have to use my knife."

11:26:04 ... 05 ... 06

When she finally managed to cut through the plastic cuffs, Penny almost couldn't believe it. She removed the tape from her mouth and rubbed her sore wrists.

Her look returned to the timer at the bomb. Less than four minutes. Penny took out her phone and selected Agent Morgan's contact. The seconds until Kate picked up felt like an eternity.

"Penny?"

"Kate, I need your help, there's ..."

"Penny, I can't hear you, I'm in a helicopter. Did you identify the voice?"

"Uh, yeah, but that's not the most pressing issue here. There's a bomb in the CTU."

"Did you say bomb?"

"Yes, a bomb, it's attached to a gas pipe and in three minutes it will explode. I need your help."

"Penny, you have to stay calm. Is there someone else around?"

Penny sprinted to the door and outside, up and down the hallway and hammered against a door. "Hello? Help!"

"Penny?"

"There's no one here, Kate."

"Okay, wait a second."

"Penny? Here's Jack Bauer. Can you describe what the bomb looks like?"

Penny rushed back to the storage room. "There are some wires and a timer, only two minutes left."

"Can you send me a photo?"

Quickly Penny took a photo of the bomb with her phone and sent it to Kate.

"Can you remove the bomb from the pipe?"

Full of fear Penny yanked at the device. "No, it's stuck, I don't know ..."

"Okay, you will have to disarm it."

"I can't disarm a bomb!"

"Yes, you can. Listen to me carefully and do exactly as I say."

"Okay."

"First you have to open the panel with the timer and then send me another photo."

Penny did as she was told. "What now? Ninety seconds."

"There are three wires, a red, a yellow and a black – can you see them?"

"Yes, yes, I see them."

"Do you have something sharp? A knife or scissors maybe?"

Penny looked around, panicking. "No, there's nothing, I ..."

"Stay calm, that's no problem. You simply have to rip out the wire then."

"Which wire?"

"The black one. This is very important. Make sure you don't touch the yellow and the red."

Penny switched the phone to her left hand and ear. With her right hand she approached the bomb, trembling heavily.

"Do you have it?", Jack asked.

Penny seized the black wire with thumb and forefinger. "Yes, I have."

"Okay, now simply give it a tug, as hard as you can."

Penny dropped the phone and closed her eyes. "I love you, Sheldon. Forever."

11:55:10 ... 11 ... 12

"We identified the traitor as Anna Briggs. Security cameras recorded her leaving the building an hour ago. Local police and FBI and looking for her. And all codes are replaced in case she tried to access our network from the outside."

"Good job, Kate. You have proven yourself today."

"Thank you, Jack."

"ETA two minutes.", the helicopter pilot reported via radio.

"Ready, Kate?", Jack asked.

"Ready."

"The first team will secure the area, two and three search the buildings in the south and we land right on top of the north complex."


	7. 12:00 pm - 1:00 am

Sunday, September 5, 2010

12:09:16 ... 17 ... 18

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"They're gone.", Jack said.

"Or they were never here.", Kate replied. "The information wasn't exactly well verified."

"No, they definitely were here. Look at this. Blood and handcuffs – I think that's where they kept the hostages. I also saw tire tracks from multiple vehicles when we overflew the area."

"Agent Bauer? We search every building, there's no one here.", the squad leader reported via radio.

"Roger."

"Nothing?", Kate asked.

Jack Bauer shook his head. "We should try to track the vehicles via traffic cams. They can't be gone long, some of the blood hasn't dried yet."

"I'll take care of it."

12:22:02 ... 03 ... 04

"It's an hour already.", Sheldon stated. "How long do you think they can endure this?"

"For their sakes and ours, we can only hope that they don't break. If one of them gives them the location up, we're all dead.", Ava replied.

"The location of what exactly?", Sheldon asked, trying again to elicit information.

"You won't give up so easily, will you? Okay, let's just say ..."

"Doctor Carter! You know very well that you're not allowed to share any information about project Elcus with any civilian."

"Calm down, Greg. Elcus is a potentially very dangerous ... device we created. A couple of weeks ago the project was terminated and it was moved to a new location and the leading scientists, Finch, Mazinek and myself included had the task to disassemble it – as transporting it as a whole was deemed unsafe – and reassemble it on site. Was that so bad, Greg?"

"Whatever."

"I can't say that satisfies my scientific curiosity, but at least now I have a general idea what is going on here. I just don't understand why I'm here with you."

"That I can answer.", Greg said. "In the early stage of project Elcus you – among others – were considered as a possible candidate. I guess our captors somehow found out about that, but not that you weren't chosen in the end."

"I see."

"How I envy you.", Ava said. "Two years of my life wasted, ridiculous security measures and now this."

"I'm sure we will be fine.", Sheldon replied, even though he didn't believe that himself.

"You know that's nonsense. Our chances of surviving this day are ..."

"We have to think positive.", Sheldon interrupted her and smiled. "That's usually what Penny says."

"Coopew?", Kripke joined the conversation. "Can I see the wing?"

Sheldon hesitated, but any distraction from Carter's gloomy mindset could only have a positive effect.

"Wow.", Barry just said.

"No woman would say no to a diamond like this.", Ava commented. "Your Penny is a lucky girl."

"She will be when we get out of here."

"How did you pwan to pop the question?", Kripke asked.

"I had the whole day planned out and it all worked out perfectly – up to the most important part."

A new bloodcurdling scream of pain interrupted Sheldon's story. "Okay, okay, okay. I give up."

"No, Martin.", Sheldon could hear Mazinek's voice through the wall. "Stay strong."

"I'm sorry, I can't. I can't take this anymore."

"Where's the Elcus?", Kovacec asked yet again.

"It's in a secret ATD facility in the Mojave desert."

Ava hammered with her fist against the wall, briefly interrupting Doctor Finch.

"The coordinates are 35 degree, 44 minutes north, 115 degree, 35 minutes west."

"Very good, Doctor Finch. I'm glad to see that at least one of you supposed geniuses shows some common sense. Well, Doctor Mazinek, I think you remember what I promised you."

"No, please."

Kovacec's mocking laughter was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. "Your timing could be any more perfect, my dear. I just got one of the fine doctors to talk. Yes, I have the coordinates. Thirty-five forty-four north, one-fifteen thirty-five west. Mojave desert. Yes, I'm sure, assuming the drug you gave me is holding up to your promise. And now excuse me, I have to take care of something here."

"He's going to kill Mazinek, we have to do something."

"Thewe's nothing we can do, Coopew."

"Okay, where was I?", Kovacec continued. "Oh, right, I wanted to ..."

Before the mercenary leader could finish his sentence and make good on his threat, loud tumult broke out in the bunker. It was hard to tell where it was coming from exactly and what was happening, but it could only be good if it stopped the execution.

12:40:40 ... 41 ... 42

Penny walked up and down in the CTU infirmary, impatiently to hear any news from the rescue operation. She had received a light sedative, but nevertheless her heart was still pumping like crazy after she had to disarm a bomb more than an hour ago.

The doctor entered. "Miss Jones, I told you to lay down.", she said.

"Have you heard anything?"

"I'm sorry, these things usually don't get shared with me. I'm not an agent, you know?"

Penny took her phone out and looked at the time. Being inside this building for hours she hadn't realized that it was already past midnight. Just as Penny wanted to put it back in her pocket, her phone rang. It was Agent Morgan. "Kate, have you found him?"

"I'm sorry, Penny. We were too late."

"Too late?", Penny repeated, her whole world on the brink of collapsing, facing the unthinkable.

"We're certain Sheldon and the others were here, but they were moved."

Penny took a deep breath. At least Sheldon wasn't dead. "Okay, do you ... have any new leads?"

"I'll have to call you back, I'm just getting ... – I keep you up to date, promised."

Before Penny could say anything more, Kate had already hung up.


	8. 1:00 am - 2:00 am

01:01:33 ... 34 ... 35

The noise – which included gunfire from automatic weapons – in the bunker had stopped more than ten minutes ago, but still neither Sheldon nor any of the other six prisoners dared to speak. The fate of Finch and Mazinek was unknown, the bunker was completely silent.

Sheldon desperately wanted to believe that someone had come to rescue them, but an indefinable feeling told him that this unwanted adventure wasn't over yet.

"Can someone please say something?", Ava Carter asked, breaking the silence.

"What do you think happened out there?", Sheldon asked back, hoping she had come to the same conclusion as he.

"I think we should go see for ourselves."

"Except that we're locked in here."

"Not necessawiwy.", Kripke said, joining the conversation. "Have you seen the wock? It's weawwy cheap."

"So what?"

"I think I can pick it."

"You can pick locks?"

"I just need something thin, about two inches wong."

"Good luck finding anything in here.", Sheldon replied sarcastically. "And I think we were all relieved of our belongings, so unless you want to pick the door with the sleeve of my shirt, we need a different plan."

"They didn't take evewything."

"What are you talking about?"

"The wing. It's sevewal thin thweads, sowid but pwobabwy bendabwe. We just have to ..."

Sheldon stared at Barry with such wrath, he would have frightened himself if there had been a mirror. Just the thought of destroying the symbol of his love for Penny made his blood boil.

"Sheldon.", Carter said and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You know it's the reasonable thing to do."

"We'll find something else."

"You said it yourself, there's nothing here."

"The ring is out of the question. Only over my dead body."

"More like over all of our bodies.", Greg chipped in. "We have to consider the possibility that no one is coming to rescue us any time soon."

"I can't. Penny will be ..."

"Penny will understand.", Ava said. "I'm sure she only cares that you return to her safely and not about the ring."

Sheldon took the ring box from his pocket. He hesitated. He knew Ava was right, but it still hurt his heart. "You better make this work, Kripke."

01:26:22 ... 23 ... 24

Jack Bauer and Kate Morgan had returned to the CTU headquarter and walked by the infirmary. Assuming it was the best way to get information on Sheldon, Penny followed them and listened in on their conversation.

"What's the status?", Jack asked.

"No new leads on the scientists, Briggs or Kovacec."

Penny swallowed hard. No news on Sheldon.

"We have identified thirteen of Kovacec's men by the fingerprints found inside the industrial plant.", Kate continued. "Six Russians, four Croatians and three Frenchmen. All came to the US in the last week. All mercenaries that are known for not being picky about the kind of work they take if you know what I mean. But just like Kovacec none of them seem to be political activists or fanatics of some sort. Different nationalities, different religions, no commonalities expect their field of work."

"So just mercenaries. No political agenda."

"It looks that way. They could plan on selling the Elcus to the highest bidder – the US has plenty of enemies that would pay for a weapon like this."

"Or they could be working for someone else."

"Your still thinking domestic terrorist group?", Kate asked.

"Tony was pretty clear about that."

"And it doesn't seem curious to you? Why would he reveal himself like that? He could try to set you on the wrong track."

"No, I don't think so."

"We don't even know for certain if he is involved."

"Why would he call me then? No, he has to be involved. Which means his break-out could also be connected to today."

"And that means Anna Briggs wasn't a single traitor but possibly part of a conspiracy."

"Exactly. And they're using Kovacec as a front to hide their own involvement."

"Okay, what's our next step then? Without Briggs and Kovacec we don't have any leads, nowhere to start."

"And we don't know who we can even trust anymore." Jack's phone rang. "It's the president."

"The president?"

"I called him about the location of the Elcus.", Jack said and accepted the call. "Mister President."

Penny couldn't believe what she was hearing. He gets a call from the president – the freaking president of the United States - and acts like it's nothing, business as usual.

"Yes, understood. Thank you very much, Mister President. You can count on me." The call was ended and Jack turned back around to Kate. "He doesn't like me. But we have a location. Is the helicopter fueled up and ready to go?"

01:37:10 ... 11 ... 12

After struggling at first to remove the diamond, Greg – the physically strongest in the group of scientists – had managed to break and bend what formerly had been supposed to be Penny's engagement ring until Kripke had declared it suitable for picking the door lock.

Now Barry maltreated the lock with the improvised picklock for at least five minutes, without success so far.

Slowly but surely Sheldon was losing his patience. If he had sacrifices Penny's ring for nothing, someone would have to pay for it. "Kripke.", he said warningly.

"I awmost have it."

And indeed a couple of seconds later a characteristic click signaled that the door was unlocked now. Kripke returned the part of the ring to Sheldon who put it in the box with the rest of it.

Sheldon opened the door only a crack and immediately saw the dead body of one of the henchmen. He opened the door completely and stepped outside on the hallway where he found a second body, both had bullet wounds on the forehead.

Ava rushed past Sheldon to the torture room. She gasped. Sheldon followed her and saw that Finch, Mazinek and another of Kovacec's thugs had been shot as well. "I'm sorry.", he said.

After allowing themselves a moment of silent respect for their murdered colleagues, Sheldon, Ava, Kripke and the rest of the group made their way back to the surface level, coming across more bodies, some still wearing their black ski masks.

Outside the same picture, Sheldon counted ten dead terrorists overall. The trucks were still there, the headlights still lightening the otherwise pitch-black night.

01:56:46 ... 47 ... 48

Penny hid in the small cargo space of CTU One, which was on the way to the Mojave desert with Jack Bauer and Kate Morgan.

Unable to stand sitting around and doing nothing while Sheldon was still kidnapped by mercenaries, terrorists or whatever, Penny had sneaked to the roof of the CTU building and into the helicopter, a decision she had regretted only seconds after it took off.

But now she was here, no turning back possible. If only it wasn't so damn confined in here.

"Oh shit.", Penny cursed as her phone started ringing inside her pocket. She tried to reach it, but because of her position she couldn't quite get her hand on it.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Penny looked up and saw Kate and Jack, the ringing had made them aware of her. "Uh, I ..."

Jack Bauer grabbed Penny forcefully by the arms and pulled her out from between the supplies. He reached in her pocket and took out her phone which was still ringing. "Who is there?"

"My name is Doctor Sheldon Cooper."


	9. 2:00 am - 3:00 am

corrected some mistakes in the previous chapters. slow transition hour as everybody is on the move.

* * *

02:00:00 ... 01 ... 02

"Doctor Cooper?"

Penny's eyes lit up. "Sheldon?"

"Who am I speaking to? What are you doing with my girlfriend's phone?"

"My name is Jack Bauer, I'm a federal agent."

"Is Penny alright?", Sheldon asked.

"Yes, she's right here with me.", Jack answered.

"I want to talk to her."

"First you have tell me where you are. Is there anyone else with you?"

"We're a group of seven scientists who all – along with two others – have been kidnapped today. Yesterday to be exact. We're at a gas station along highway 395 north of Los Angeles."

"What about the other two?"

"Unfortunately Doctor Finch and Doctor Mazinek were killed before we could escape."

Jack Bauer briefly interrupted the phone call. "Two dead, seven escaped.", he said to Kate. "Doctor Cooper, what can you tell me about where you have been held captive and by whom? And how did you manage to escape?"

02:12:16 ... 17 ... 18

"Sheldon?", Penny asked eagerly as she was finally given the phone.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to hear your voice, Penny.", Sheldon replied.

"Me too. I was worried sick about you."

"I'm fine now. What was that about you being in a helicopter?"

"Kind of a long story. They're going to drop me off at a small airfield near Lancaster. Maybe you can meet me there?"

"Absolutely. I love you, Penny."

"I love you too, Sheldon."

02:24:31 ... 32 ... 33

"Where to now?", Kate asked after Penny had left. "Mojave desert or ..."

"The plan hasn't changed. The Elcus is our highest priority. Send a team to find the bunker and gather information."

Jack and Kate got back in the helicopter and signaled the pilot to start. "What do you think happened?"

"From what Cooper told me I have a good idea.", Jack answered. "After Kovacec had gotten the location and passed it on, he had served his purpose and they cleaned up."

"They being who?"

"Almeida and whoever he's working with. We clearly dealing with a very professional group and they're an hour ahead of us."

"If they have the correct location. There's more than one government facility in the Mojave desert, you know that. You should have let him give you the coordinates."

"Not over an unsecured line. Even if Almeida's group already knows it, this is still a top secret information. We can't risk anyone else getting wind of project Elcus and the facility."

"I guess you have a point there."

"It wouldn't have changed our task anyway. We have to secure the Elcus. I contacted a Delta Force commander I trust, he will send us back-up, but we will be the first ones there. Let's hope it's not too late."

"Any guards at the building?"

"No, it's part of an old DoD site for weapons test. Abandoned in 2004, the ATD took it over last year and modernized it, but according to the president it hasn't been used until four weeks ago. Anyway, due to the top secret clearance necessary to be even allowed near the Elcus and because they had to improvise after the satellite fiasco, there is no one permanently stationed there."

"Did you contact ATD?"

"President Woudronde did."

"And?"

"They hardly will be of any help."

"Do you think someone of ATD could be in on it? After all, the information about the existence of the Elcus couldn't have come from anywhere else."

"I don't think so. If there's a traitor in ATD, Kovacec and the kidnapping wouldn't have been necessary in the first place. Of course I can't rule it out, but I think the information was leaked unintentionally. You know how these things go. Even if only a couple of dozen people are involved, something always gets out. With the failed test, I'm sure there was a lot of hectic and at the same time everyone could see that something was going on."

"Do you think they put together the operation in just four weeks?"

"Possible. The group surely existed before, the Elcus is just a means to whatever crazy agenda they have."

02:45:45 ... 46 ... 47

Penny was sitting in a surprisingly well-filled 24-hour diner in Lancaster, waiting for Sheldon and picking around in scrambled eggs. Knowing that her boyfriend was in safety all her tension had fallen off and the long, way to exciting day took its toll on her.

And the day had started off so nicely. Once more Sheldon had gone out of his way to make an amazing day happen for her – and there wasn't even a special occasion.

Suddenly Shadow came to Penny's mind. Raj had taken care of the cat for the day, but they should have picked him up hours ago.

Raj hand called several times both Penny and Sheldon over the course of the evening, but Penny always had rejected the calls. He had also left two text messages.

_Where are you guys? You should have been here two hours ago. Is everything alright?_

_Okay, I'm going to bed now. Shadow is sleeping on the couch. You can pick him up tomorrow morning._

Relieved Penny turned back off Sheldon's phone to save battery and resumed eating her eggs.


	10. 3:00 am - 4:00 am

03:04:06 ... 07 ... 08

"We've reached the coordinates, sir. Where do you want me to drop you off?"

"I can't see anything, Jack."

"We need light, Johnson."

Johnson switched on the search light of the helicopter and circled for a minute before landing about a hundred feet south of the ATD building and turning of the engine.

Jack and Kate got out of the helicopter. "Give me a M16 and grab some spar ammunition, we don't know what we will encounter."

Kate nodded and turned around as she heard a noise, a whoosh. "What is that?"

"Get down!", Jack screamed, grabbed Kate's arm and pulled her to the ground, protecting her with his own body.

Less than a second later a rocket hit the helicopter.

After a couple of seconds Jack, who was unhurt, got back up and run crouching towards the facility, dragging Kate with him.

"Jack, what about Johnson?"

"He's dead. We have to get to cover." To prove Jack's words multiple shots were fired by an unseen enemy, missing the federal agents.

Jack and Kate reached the side wall and took cover. Jack peered around the corner, but as there was no light source other than the burning helicopter, he couldn't make out any details.

"Are you hurt, Kate?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks to you."

"How much do you have?"

"Just one magazine. You?"

"Two."

"What now? Do we wait for Delta?"

"We have to get inside."

"Then we're trapped."

"Doesn't matter. The Elcus is in a secure room that can be sealed from the inside. When we make it there, we can hold the position until reinforcements arrive."

"Okay."

"The front door is twenty feet from the corner. The key pad is on the right side. The code is four, seven, one, zero, zero, six, five, two. Repeat."

"Four, seven, one, zero, zero, six, five, two."

"Good. I'll cover you. Ready?"

Kate nodded. Jack turned around the corner first. Without being detected they reached the entrance to the facility.

03:15:50 ... 51 ... 52

"Sheldon!", Penny called out, beaming with joy as her boyfriend entered the diner. She stormed towards him and flung her arms around Sheldon's neck.

Sheldon hugged Penny and kissed her on the forehead. "Penny?, he said after a wonderful moment. "Do you have some money? I need to pay the cab."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Here's your wallet and your phone and keys."

"I'm back in a second."

Sheldon went back outside, paid the cabbie and returned to Penny. "Sweetie, I can't tell you ... – what happened to your shirt?", Penny asked, having noticed the bloodstain on Sheldon's left sleeve.

"Oh, just ...", Sheldon replied and showed his wound.

"Oh my god."

"It's not as bad as it looks."

"It looks pretty bad. We should take you to a doctor."

"No, it's fine, really. I just want to go home."

"Yeah, me too."

"On second thought, it smells delicious in here and I haven't eat anything for twelve hours."

"There's an empty table in the corner. I'll fetch you a menu."

"Thank you."

Sheldon sat down and Penny brought him the menu, sitting down very close to him. "Does it hurt?", she asked.

"Just a little bit."

"What happened to you?"

"I got off easy.", Sheldon replied. "There were nine, including me. All top-notch scientists."

"I know."

"Two didn't make it."

"I'm sorry. Did you know them?"

"Not personally, no."

Penny lowered her voice. "I know I'm not supposed to talk about it, but what is this Elcus?"

"I can't answer you that."

"You don't know or you're not allowed to?"

"I don't know, really. Not exactly at least."

"Too bad. Hey, did I tell you that I disarmed a bomb today?"

Sheldon was shocked. "What?", he called out.

"It's not as bad as it sounds.", Penny replied, smiling happily.

03:26:17 ... 18 ... 19

"Damn it, this is a total maze. Who designed this madness?"

"I think we have to ..." A shaking went through the building. "What was that?"

"They burst open the door. We have to get to the Elcus, now."

Kate and Jack hurried down a hallway in the extensive underground area of the facility. The lack of plans, labeling and light made it awfully hard to find to the core where the Elcus device was kept.

"That has to be it. The code is six, two ..."

Kate dragged Jack to the side as she saw flashlights at the end of the hallway.

"We need to take them out without alarming the others. Don't shoot unless it's absolutely necessary.", Jack whispered and drew his knife, giving it to Kate. "You take the one on the right."

As the two enemies reached the end of the hallway leading to the safe room, Kate grabbed the first one from behind and slit his throat. Jack jumped at the other men, pushing him against the wall and breaking his neck. Within only a few seconds the fight was over.

"Take their guns, ammunition and flashlights.", Jack ordered as he rushed to the heavy door and entered the code he had gotten from President Woudronde. A bleep and a red light signaled that he was unsuccessful. "Damn it.", Jack cursed and tried again, same result.

"What's the problem?", Kate asked.

"The code isn't working."

"Are you sure that you ..."

"I'm capable of entering twelve numbers, okay?"

"Sorry. What now?"

"Delta should be here in less than an hour. We just have to make sure the Elcus doesn't leave this building until then."

"That's not much of a plan, Jack."

"We're going on the offensive. Take them out one by one. Give me one of the silencers."

Kate removed the silencers of the guns she had taken from the dead bodies and handed one to Jack. Both attached them to their own weapons.

"Let's go."

03:39:14 ... 15 ... 16

"Seems like they're as clueless as we were.", Kate whispered.

"On three." Jack counted with his fingers, then he and Kate turned around the corner, shooting the two next terrorists in the back of their heads. "That's six."

"But we don't know how many are left."

"Doesn't matter. The time is in our favor. I don't think they have the code for the safe room and blasting through the door or the wall won't be as easy as it was with the entrance door."

"Jack, look at this."

"What is it?"

Kate twisted the arm of one of the dead men to show jack his tattoo. "I know this symbol. It's used by the SOD, the CIA's division for especially dangerous, top-secret operations."

"Confirms that this group has infiltrated government agencies."

"Jack, these guys are not to be taken lightly. They're just as skilled as Delta and have a basically unlimited black budget."

Before Jack could reply anything, shots were fired at him. One bullet brushed his hand, making him drop his pistol.

Kate for her part was hit in the leg. Nevertheless she fired back at the attackers, but missed. Both parties took cover at opposite ends of the hallway.

Jack Bauer drew his second gun, which didn't have a silencer. He knew using it would draw attention and reduce their chances of surviving and accomplishing their mission.

"If you surrender, we will spare your lives. We don't mean you any harm. We serve this country just like you."

"You're traitors."

"History will have to decided about that. We know you're a good man, Bauer. Almeida told us a lot about you. You do what is needs to be done, no matter the rules or laws. And so do we."

"We're nothing alike.", Jack replied. "Can you walk?", he asked Kate quietly. She nodded. "When I shoot, you run as fast as you can. Hide in the boiler room."

"What about you?"

"Last chance, Bauer."

"Okay, we surrender, don't shoot."

03:53:26 ... 27 ... 28

"Sated?", Penny asked.

"Absolutely."

"And you're sure you don't want to see a doctor?"

"Yes. Let's go home."

Penny waved at the waitress and paid the tab. She took Sheldon's hand and they stepped outside. "Nice night actually, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna take a walk around the block before we call a cab?", Penny asked. Sheldon didn't respond. "Sheldon?"

"I know this woman."

"What woman?"

"There, at the corner, smoking."

"Where do you know her from?"

"I saw her in front of the bunker."


	11. 4:00 am - 5:00 am

04:00:57 ... 58 ... 59

"Sheldon, this is crazy.", Penny whispered.

"It's a matter of national security.", Sheldon replied.

"You starting to sound like that Jack Bauer guy. But following a woman you think might be involved with terrorists in the middle of the night is still crazy, national security or not."

"I have an eidetic memory. It was her."

"I believe you. And now let's go home."

"Don't you want to know what the last ten hours were about?"

"Sure, but I don't want to risk both of our lives for it."

"She's meeting someone. Don't you think that's very suspicious?"

"Yes, but ..."

"Psst."

"We almost got the Elcus.", the man meeting with the brunette said. "Bauer and Morgan killed some of our men, but they won't stop us."

"Did you catch them?"

"No, they pretended to surrender, but ..."

"Jack Bauer doesn't surrender."

"Yeah, Waller learned that the hard way. But she's wounded and now they're hiding somewhere. It's only a matter of time until we find them."

"I don't care if you find them as long as they don't get in our way.", the tall brunette replied. "Is everything prepared in Ridgecrest?"

"As far as possible. If everything goes according to plan, the Elcus is operational in less than two hours."

"Good. I'm heading there now."

"And I have to get to work. Apparently there's a national security crisis that needs the attention of all Homeland employees.", the man joked.

"That could be an important information, Sheldon.", Penny said as the two conspirators parted ways. "We should call Jack or Kate and tell them about Ridgecrest."

"Ridgecrest has a population of more than twenty thousand people. They will need a more accurate location."

"What are you suggesting?"

"We should continue following her.", Sheldon answered and walked the talk.

Penny had to hurry to catch up with Sheldon after a moment of discomposure. "Sheldon, don't force me to be the voice of reason, that's your job."

They reached the end of the park, the brunette woman was getting in her car. Sheldon pointed at a grey, shabby looking Honda. "Penny, do you think you still can hot-wire a car?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Then do it, quick, we can't lose sight of her."

"Sheldon, I ..."

"Please."

"Ah, fuck, I can't believe I'm doing this." Penny smashed the back seat window with her elbow, reached in and opened the driver's door. In less than half a minute she had started the engine.

04:21:09 ... 10 ... 11

Jack Bauer was crawling through the ventilation system of the ATD facility, Kate struggled to keep up with him.

"Are you okay, Kate?"

"I ... – it's okay.", she replied under pain from her bullet wound.

"This is our last chance. They cracked the safe room nine minutes ago, if we don't stop them now, we will lose the Elcus."

"Shouldn't Delta be here by now? I don't think we can stop them alone, there are too many."

"With any luck they're surrounding the building as we speak, but if not, it's up to us to at least buy them more time."

"Hurry up, damn it.", Kate and Jack heard a male voice coming from the end of the ventilation tunnel. "As long as Bauer is alive, no one of us is save here."

"That's Tony." Jack crawled to the grid and scouted the situation. Tony Almeida, two men and a woman stood by and watches as two more men slowly carried a device, presumably the Elcus, along the hallway to the destroyed entrance door.

"What now, Jack?"

"We wait until they turn their backs to us, then we attack. I'll jump down and you can shoot from up here."

"Do we want to secure or destroy the Elcus?"

"President's order is to secure it, but if we have to destroy it to keep it from getting out of here, we will do that. Whatever it takes."

"Understood."

Jack loosened the grid and waited for the right moment. As the Elcus had almost reached the end of the hallway he climbed down and immediately started shooting, taking down two men in a matter of seconds.

The others fired back and more joined them from the outside. Kate tried her best to support Jack, but the narrow tunnel she was in made it difficult to fire precise shots.

04:28:57 ... 58 ... 59

Suffering from three bullet wounds in his upper leg, shoulder and stomach Jack Bauer barely made it outside, stepping over and on the bodies of at least ten men and women.

Limping along the outer wall he looked out for more enemies and traces of the Elcus. Jack turned around the corner and spotted two men about thirty feet away. Despite the almost complete darkness he was certain that one of them was Tony.

Jack raised his uninjured arm and shot the other man in the back, who collapsed to the ground. "Don't move, Tony."

"So it has come down to just the two of us, Jack. Reminds me of the old times."

"Where is ... the Elcus?"

"It's gone, Jack. And if you think I'm going to tell you where we're bringing it, you better kill me right now." Slowly Tony turned around, Jack could see a pistol in his right hand.

"Don't, Tony. Don't make me do this."

"You still have the choice, Jack. You always had the choice. What will you do?"

"I will always do what's necessary to protect this country."

"You're not protecting this country, Jack. Today you killed more than a dozen Americans, that's what you did."

"They're traitors!", Jack screamed. "And you're a traitor! You betrayed everything we believed in!"

"I still believe in this country, Jack. That's why I think it deserves a fresh start. We're going to make it possible. We're patriots, Jack."

"You're mad. You all are."

Tony slowly raised his arm. "Your call, Jack. Are you prepared to kill another friend? Like Curtis?"

"You brought this on yourself.", Jack said and pulled the trigger. No shot was fired. Jack tried again, but he had ran out of ammunition.

"That's bad luck, Jack." Tony came closer to Jack and pointed his gun at him. "But at least I now have complete certainty. I know that you would ruthlessly kill me. Makes what I'm going to do a lot easier."

"Michelle would hate you for this, Tony."

"Don't say her name!", Almeida screamed, but he immediately regained his composure. "Did you think it would end like this, Jack? It's kind of fitting, isn't it? In the middle of the night, a desert, you, the legendary Jack Bauer, and me, the man you used to call your friend."

"And me, asshole.", Kate said and shot Tony in the shoulder.

Jack gathered his last strength, disarmed Tony and knocked him out. Kate rushed towards him and hugged Jack. "I guess I owe you one.", he said.

"I'm just glad you're alive.", Kate replied. As soon as they broke the hug, Jack and Kate could hear the sound of nearing helicopters. "Great timing."

04:50:06 ... 07 ... 08

"Don't you think we should call someone, Sheldon? Even if we get an exact location, it might not be of much help if Jack and Kate are god-knows-where in the Mojave desert."

"I did not consider that."

"Here, I have Kate's number stored."

Sheldon made the call and waited until it was answered. "Agent Morgan."

"Here is Sheldon Cooper, I ..."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Cooper, I don't have any time right now, we're dealing with a crisis here."

"Yes, I know, that's why I'm calling. We have a potentially important information for you."


	12. 5:00 am - 6:00 am

05:02:22 ... 23 ... 24

"I don't like this."

"It's the only lead we've got, Jack.", Kate argued.

"They're civilians.", Jack Bauer replied.

"That didn't bother you when Penny disarmed the bomb in the CTU and saved our colleagues."

"I hardly had an alternative, did I?"

"And what's the alternative now? Sit around and wait for doomsday?"

"What if we're flying the completely wrong direction? There were also tire tracks heading north."

"Delta will follow up on it, but with the information we have it's the right call to focus most of our resources on Ridgecrest."

"I know. I just don't have a good feeling about this."

"Be honest, on days like today, did you ever have a good feeling?"

"When will we arrive?", Jack asked instead of answering Kate's question.

"Thirty, thirty-five minutes from now."

"Let's hope that's not too late."

05:19:37 ... 38 ... 39

"We're losing her, Penny."

"I can see that, okay? What do you want me to do?"

"Drive faster."

"I'm not a race driver, Sheldon. And I won't risk killing us both in a car accident just to follow a woman who might or might not lead us to the Elcus. Whatever the fuck that is anyway."

"It's some sort of weapon. We could save a lot of lives here, Penny."

"Not that I don't admire you heroism, but it has to have its limits. If you're risking your own life – and mine by the way too – you and I are going to have a problem. I rather have half the world going up in flames than losing you."

"I promise I won't do anything to risk your life or mine. I love you, Penny."

"I love you too, Sheldon.

"Ridgecrest.", Sheldon read the town sign they passed only a minute later. "We're here."

Penny turned with the stolen Honda around the same corner the dark-blue Mercedes had. "Where is she?"

"We lost her, damn it."

"Relax. She can't be far." Penny slowly drove along the poorly lit street, looking left and right. "I can't see her. What now?"

"We have to search the town. The license plate number is C2824FT."

"Or we could just go home now and leave the police work to ... you know, the police. Or the federal agents or whatever."

"Ten minutes, okay? If we don't find the car in the next ten minutes, we go home. Deal?"

"Deal. And when we're home, we have to talk about your adventurous spirit and where it's coming from."

05:27:41 ... 42 ... 43

"There!", Penny called out as she detected the Mercedes in front of a large property surrounded by a chain-link fence.

"Good eye, Penny."

"Let's call Agent Morgan and then get out of here."

"Wait. I want to check out if she's really in there."

Before Penny could object, Sheldon had already left the car. "I can't believe this.", she groaned and followed him. "What do you think you're doing? How do you want to get in there?"

"There's a hole in the fence.", Sheldon said and pointed at it.

"Sheldon, no.", Penny replied and grabbed Sheldon by the shoulder, but he broke away and ran crouched to the gap. "Sheldon!"

"I'll be fine."

"Sheldon, stop. This is where it ends. I don't know what has gotten into you, but I won't let you go in there. Look at me, Sheldon."

Sheldon turned around and looked Penny in the eyes. "Penny, I ..."

"Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm calling Kate."

05:42:24 ... 25 ... 26

Jack Bauer, Kate Morgan and the six Delta Force soldiers accompanying them hand landed several minutes outside of Ridgecrest in order not to alarm their enemy and continued their way on foot. A third helicopter had to make a forced landing due to technical difficulties ten miles before reaching the destination.

With the address and description provided by Penny they knew exactly where to strike and hopefully find the Elcus device before it could be put to use.

Both Kate and Jack were injured, but neither wanted to miss the chance of personally being part of ending the crisis.

"That's it, Jack. Are you sure you want to lead the charge?", Kate asked while one of the soldiers cut open the fence. "It's no shame to let Delta go first."

"You forget that I was Delta too."

"Yeah, but these guys weren't shot three times today. And they're younger than you are."

"Are you saying I'm too old?"

"I'm saying be the second to go into a house full of terrorists – for once."

"We're ready, sir. There's a back door right in front of us. Heat signatures suggest at least a dozen persons on the ground floor."

"Lead the way."

"Sir, what's our objective? Colonel White was rather unspecific about what we're dealing with here."

"As he should be. All you need to know is that it's neither nuclear, biological or chemical weapon, but securing it is vital for the national security."

"Are we expecting explosives, sir?"

"No. The device doesn't pose a danger during the mission."

"Civilians?"

"Unlikely."

"Roger. Two teams, one for the door, one for the west side windows. Go."

Kate stayed with the soldiers approaching the back entrance while Jack went with the second team. But before the assault could be started, they were attacked themselves. "Go, go, go!", Jack yelled.

05:46:43 ... 44 ... 45

"Well, she looks scared.", Penny commented as a blond woman ran across the street in front of them as her and Sheldon watched the anti-terror operation from afar.

"That's understandable, isn't it? Image if in our neighborhood a heavy shootout would break out in the early morning and you had no idea what was going on."

"Yeah.", Penny replied. "Wait. I know her."

"Where from?"

Penny jumped out of the car and ran after the blonde with incredible speed. Once she reached her, Penny tackled the woman to the ground and started beating at her.

"Penny, what are you doing?", Sheldon asked as he had caught up with his girlfriend.

"It's her. She wanted to blow me up."

"Penny. Penny, she's unconscious.", Sheldon said and tried to pull Penny of Anna Briggs.

Still in rage Penny unintentionally hit Sheldon, causing his nose to bleed. "Oh sweetie, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Just calm down."

"Sorry."

"Do you have a tissue?"

"Uh, no. I think there were some in the car, I'll fetch them." Penny rushed back to the car and returned with the tissues.

"Thank you."

"What do we do with her?"

05:57:09 ... 10 ... 11

"All clear, sir. The device is secured."

"Good job. How are your men?"

"They will be fine. So ... you really can't tell me what this is? Doesn't look dangerous."

"To be honest, I couldn't explain it to you if I was allowed to. But what from I know, it's very dangerous."

"What do I tell the local police?"

"No one steps foot inside this house. National security."

"Roger." The Delta Force squad leader saluted and left the house to talk to the sheriff of Ridgecrest.

Kate entered with Sheldon and Penny in tow. "Look who I found, Jack."

"Kate, you can't bring civilians in here."

"Relax. They brought us a present."

"What are you talking about?"

"Anna Briggs. She ran as the assault began – straight into Penny." Kate and Penny fist bumped.

"I guess we owe you two a lot today. Anything I can do for you?"

Sheldon and Penny looked at each other. "We just want to go home.", Penny said.

"Of course. I'll make sure someone takes you. Right after the debrief. Should take only a couple of hours."

"Great. There's actually one more thing you might be able to help us with."

"What is it?"

"Well, I kind of ... borrowed a car to get here. Without asking the owner. I was hoping one of you could ... handle it so that I'm not getting prosecuted for car theft."

Jack laughed out loud, Kate smiled. "Don't worry, Penny, I'll take care of it."

* * *

not the end. I'll do one or two chapters for special scenes (I'm still like three parts behind) and then an epilog to make it full 24 hours. And after all Sheldon has still some unfinished buisness he needs to take care of ;)


	13. Epilog

Sunday, September 10, 2010

The sun was already starting to set again as Sheldon and Penny finally got home. The debrief at the CTU headquarter had taken almost hours. Witness statements had to be given and confidentiality agreements had to be signed. There were still parts of the conspiracy to be unveiled and the CTU was leading the search for the Homeland Security agent seen in the park. Therefore everyone was quite busy, Sheldon and Penny had spent most of the time waiting until Kate Morgan had finally allowed them to go home.

Afterwards they had picked up Shadow from Raj's place, who – besides complaining that the cat didn't like him – had lots of questions. Another hour gone.

Neither Sheldon nor Penny had slept for thirty-four hours and after the events of the day both were extremely tired. "I'm going to sleep twenty hours – at least.", Penny said.

Sheldon smiled tiredly. "Yeah."

"Hell of a day."

"Yeah."

"And we had such a nice day yesterday until ... you know."

Sheldon gulped. Twenty-four hours ago he had wanted to propose to Penny, now both of them had had near-death experiences and the engagement ring was gone. Well, not exactly gone, it was still in Sheldon's pocket, but destroyed. It wasn't a ring anymore.

"I really like Kate, but I hope I never have to see her again. I'm not made for action and danger and constant worry for your safety. I want a quiet life, just you and me, no traitors and terrorists."

Shadow meowed in his cat carrier as if he knew that he was being left out.

"And you, Shadow."

They reached the front door and Sheldon put the transport box on the ground. "Penny, before all of this happened, I wanted to ask you something."

"Can it wait until tomorrow, sweetie? I can barely stay on my feet anymore."

"Yes, of course.", Sheldon replied, but he immediately changed his mind. "No. No, I don't want to wait any longer. I waited way to long already. I wanted it to be perfect. The perfect day, the perfect location, the perfect moment – now it's none of that, but ..." He kneeled down, took out the velvet ring box and opened it. "... I just need to ask you this. Penelope Lara Jones, will you make me the happiest man in the world and ..."

"Yes!", Penny shouted. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

"Please let me finish my question first before you answer. Penny, will you marry me?"

"Yes. A thousand times yes.", Penny answered more calmly this time, dropped down to her knees and kissed Sheldon. "Yes."

"I would love to put a ring on your finger right now, but there's a detail I haven't told you about."

Only now Penny really looked at the ring – or what was left of it. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Kripke needed something to pick the lock and it was the only thing we had. I'm sorry. This doesn't change anything, does it?"

"No, no. I don't need a freaking ring, I just want to marry you. I mean, a ring is kind of non-optional ..."

"I'll buy you a new one tomorrow, I promise. One that can't be taken apart so easily. It's supposed to last for a very long time after all."

"A very, very long time.", Penny replied. "I love you, Sheldon."

"I love you, Penny."

"Shadow, did you hear that? We're getting married!"

The kitten purred.

"I think he approves.", Penny said. "Any chance there's a tradition the man has to carry his fiancée to bed after the proposal?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Too bad. What time is it anyway? We were so long at the CTU, I lost all feeling for it."

Sheldon looked at his watch. 5:59:59.

* * *

and that's it for my first crossover attempt. I think it didn't turn out that bad at the end. thanks to the few remaining readers and reviewers.

* * *

my plans for the next parts:

8: wedding preperations, wedding and a baby (I tell you right away, it won't be Penny's - they're just taking care of Missy's baby for a while)

9: Castle-crossover: an enemy of Sheldon and Penny gets murdered and Penny is the main suspect - can Sheldon prove her innocence?

10: Penny finally gets her big break - how does she deal with her new fame? Sheldon starts a new research.

11: Penny gets a blow to the head and can't remember her life. Instead she wakes up as a different character each day.


End file.
